Chia-Jen Lo, an Astros prospect to know, perhaps in 2010

When we last talked about Astros pitching prospect Chia-Jen Lo — behind the man’s back, no less — we were talking about him as a one-pitch pitcher for the most part.

The righty was getting by in the high Class A California League largely on a fastball that reached the mid-90s. When the Astros promoted him beyond a level of overqualification, it was with the idea of having him develop his curve and his changeup as complements.

In my brief experience watching him in Corpus Christi in the second half of last year, it seemed as if he was leaning on the fastball, going to it at the first sign of trouble. Scouts I talked to seemed to really like the potential of his stuff and absolutely love his fastball. It was the most glowingly I heard scouts talk about any aspect of an Astros prospect’s game last year.

How did the organization take to his second half?

“He really started to show progress with his ability to throw his breaking ball for strikes,” said assistant GM Ricky Bennett, who runs the farm system. “I think he gained confidence in doing it. We started to see it a little more often, which is good. He’s not there yet, but we definitely saw progress.”

The split-level effect of his season was predictable and not really discouraging, in my opinion. His strikeout numbers were still good after the promotion, just not video game-like, and his walks stayed consistent. That walk number will have to come down, though, to make the type of major leaguer the Astros are envisioning.

Level

A+

AA

Innings

25.1

39

ERA

1.78

2.31

K/9

12.8

9.0

BB/9

4.6

4.6

So what’s next for the Taiwan native who will turn 24 the week of opening day?

“I know he’s going to get an opportunity to compete and make the club in Round Rock. If he comes in and shows us that he’s ready to do it, I don’t see why he couldn’t handle that level,” Bennett said.

As a follow-up, could he be in Houston in 2010?

“I think that’s realistic. That’s something that Ed (Wade) and I have talked about. The one thing I like about him is that he’s not afraid. He’s a pretty mature kid. He’s got experience in international competition. I think all those things play a factor. I think it’s realistic that we have a chance to see him in 2010.”